With a full week to prepare for Saturday, Sydney FC defender Rhyan Grant is raring to go against the Central Coast Mariners at Central Coast Stadium on Saturday (kick off 5:15pm).
Grant remained in Sydney while the squad travelled to Korea to treat a minor quad injury, however the Sky Blues number 23 says he’s recovered and is hopeful of being selected in Saturday’s matchday squad.
“It [the injury] is coming along alright,” he said.
“I stayed back all of this week and did all the rehab and treated it. It’s feeling good so hopefully I’m right to go tomorrow.
“I’m confident I’ll be ready to go, whether I get selected that’s a decision for the coach to make, but I feel ready.
“The boys put in a great shift over there and the structure defensively I thought was brilliant and obviously they’ll try and carry that on to tomorrow night.”
With the travelling squad returning to training on Friday morning, Grant said the buoyant mood had transferred to those players that stayed behind as he called on the squad to step up against the Mariners.
“They got back this morning, a few boys are pretty tired and look a bit worse for wear but they’re pretty happy with the great result over there and feeling good about it,” Grant said.
“It’s sort of infectious [the mood], the boys are getting around having a laugh so it’s quite good.
“We don’t want to put too much pressure on ourselves and say we have to win but it’s getting that way at the moment,” he continued.
“Us boys that stayed behind, the onus is on us to step up and make sure we do get that win.
“I think every team in the A-League you can’t underestimate them. They’re going to come out firing and we have to expect that from the Central Coast.
“It’s sort of a local derby and is always a tough challenge so we’ll definitely have to be ready and step up.”
Sydney FC take on the Central Coast Mariners at Central Coast Stadium on Saturday (kick off 5:15pm). Catch the game live on Fox Sports 4, listen live on ABC Grandstand or follow @SydneyFC on Twitter for updates.
